Strong IPA & Kölsch

The strong IPA that I brewed a month ago turned-out very tasty for what it is...a high-IBU hop monster from Parallel Hell. It dried-out to a gravity of 1.010. I burned through a keg of it this past Saturday at my 100-mile racing buddy Raul Flores' retirement party. It was well-received; Raul likes hoppy beers. (Retiring at the age of 51...sheesh)! I put a warning sticker on it to warn "beer newbies" and fools, since it has a 8.15% alcohol content (by volume).

I also had about 3 gallons left of my ESB on tap, and the rest of that keg played-out within a couple of hours. I'm glad, too, because it was getting "a little long in the tooth," and I'm not a huge ESB fan. I guess that's why I don't brew that style very often. I'd rather brew a brown or something else interesting, if I want to have a "mild" beer style around.

This past Sunday, June 3rd, I brewed a Kölsch-style beer for the Summer. One of the 5-gallon kegs will go to another buddy to help him win a BBQ competition, and the other will be for personal consumption. I always like to have a Kölsch and/or a Pilsener around for the hot Summer months.

I used a version of an old recipe of mine that I tend to like. For the 10-gallon batch, it included:
9 lb. Weyermann Pilsner, 9 lb. Maris Otter Crisp, and 2 lb. White Wheat Malt on the grain bill. I performed a single-step mash. For hops, I used Tettnang and Hallertau Mittelfruh hop flowers for that "Noble" nose. I used my "secret" Kölsch yeast, and pitched a healthy starter. It's bubbling away in the glass fermenter like crazy, and should be ready in time for my friend's BBQ date.

By the way, during transferring I got a taste of the Brett-inoculated Saison that will be my next Lambic. Woo-hoo! This new Brett Baby is going to be tasty!

Happy brewing, everybody!